1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector having a pull tab and a pair of latches for engaging and releasing a mated complementary connector.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,939, issued to Yukihiro Maitani et al on Oct. 15, 1996, discloses a conventional electrical connector having a pair of latch springs 22 and 22A respectively attached on opposite sides of a housing 21 of the connector. An operating member 23 has a pair of latch releasing cams 23-4 located below angled portions 22-4 of the latch springs 22, 22A. When an operator pulls a pull tab 23-8 of the operating member 23 backwardly, the latch releasing cams 23-4 exert outward forces on the angled portions 22-4 and U-shaped claws 22-1 slip out to release a mated complementary connector. Because the operating member 23 and the latch springs 22, 22A are positioned outside of the housing 21, they are very easy to be damaged when a force is exerted thereon. When two or more such connectors are arranged side by side, a relatively large space is needed between every two connectors and this adversely affects the compact design of an electronic system including such connectors. Furthermore, when the pulling force acting on the operating member 23 is released, the latch springs 22, 22A exert a force to push the operating member 23 to its original position. However, the force is too small to exactly pull the operating member 23 to the original position. To overcome the above mentioned disadvantages, an electrical connector is needed that a pull tab of the connector can automatically return to its original position.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an electrical connector having a pull tab engaging with a pair of latches for latching and releasing a mated complementary connector; the pull tab and the latches can automatically resume to their original positions after they are motivated to release released the complementary connector from the electrical connector in accordance with the present invention.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention comprises a base and a cover assembled together. The base has a mating frame formed on a front portion thereof. A connector subassembly is assembled to the base and has a portion extending into the mating frame. A pair of metal springs is mounted on the base. A pair of latches is mounted to opposite sides of the base and is deflectable in lateral direction. A pull tab is assembled to the base and has a pair of latch releasing portions. The pull tab is movable in front-to-back direction which is perpendicular to the lateral direction. When the pull tab is pulled backwardly, the latch releasing portions push the latches to laterally deflect and the metal springs are elastically deformed. When the pull tab is released, the metal springs exerts a spring force on the pull tab to cause the pull tab and the latches to return back to original position.